Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller claims her former protégés were paid a whopping $50,000 EACH to appear on Lifetime reunion show – as she reveals she had NO idea she was going to be featured: ‘I feel used’

Abby Lee Miller has claimed her former dance students were paid $50,000 each to take part in the upcoming Dance Moms reunion special – but she didn’t receive a penny from bosses who she claims failed to inform her that she would feature heavily. 

This week, Lifetime released a trailer for the reunion, which stars original cast members Brooke Hyland, 26, Paige Hyland and Kalani Hilliker, both 23, Chloe Lukasiak, 22, Kendall Vertes, 21, and Jojo Siwa 20.

Abby, 58, claims she wasn’t asked to take part in the two hour special which drops on May 1, and has accused bosses of using old footage to ‘make me look as bad as possible.’

‘I saw the trailer and all I can say is that producers clearly cannot come up with anything new,’ Abby Lee told DailyMail.com exclusively. 

‘They are still using the same old footage, still using the same old conflicts, and still trying to make me look as bad as possible. They are still using me. 

‘Those beautiful girls that are on this reunion are girls that I helped to raise. The girls who break down in tears on the trailer are girls that would not have become who they are without me. I helped raise them.’

She continued: ‘They are now successful, confident, and pretty damn wealthy. They all got paid $50,000 to do this reunion. I was not asked to be in it, and I didn’t get paid anything. Save your tears for the pillow.’

The reunion is taking place four years after the grand finale in 2019 and 13 years after it first premiered in 2011. 

Jojo, Brooke, Paige, Chloe, Kendall and Kalani’s moms Jessalynn Siwa, Kira Girard, Christi Lukasiak, Jill Vertes and Kelly Hyland also feature. 

‘Our girls are officially all grown up…the #DanceMomsReunion premieres May 1st only on @LifetimeTV,’ Lifetime announced Wednesday on Instagram, along with a teaser trailer.

Fans were quick to point out that studio owner Abby Lee and Abby Lee’s ‘favorite’ dancer Maddie Ziegler did not partake. 

Dance Moms followed an elite youth dance troupe at the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and their over-the-top mothers as they compete across the United States.

Abby, 58, claims she wasn’t asked to take part in the two hour show and says bosses did not alert her that she would feature heavily in the Lifetime special

The reunion stars original cast members Brooke Hyland, 26, Paige Hyland and Kalani Hilliker, both 23, Chloe Lukasiak, 22, Kendall Vertes, 21, and Jojo Siwa 20

In the preview, Paige and Brooke — who both joined the show in its first season — discuss the ‘fight’ between their mother Kelly and Abby Lee that led to them abruptly quitting during season four.

‘I feel like I ruined your life and your dance career,’ Kelly confesses to Brooke and Paige — who were aged 13 and 10, respectively, when they first appeared on the show.

Brooke breaks down in tears as Kalani, who was 13 when she joined in season four, admitted to feeling as though she ’caused’ the entire blowout.

Kelly called Abby Lee a ‘bully’ after she claimed to have heard the instructor talking about replacing Brooke in a group dance with Kalani backstage at a dance competition.

She felt Abby Lee was trying to ‘replace’ Brooke and Paige with Kalani, which Abby Lee insisted was not true.

The situation escalated quickly as Abby Lee got into Kelly’s face and Kelly slapped Abby Lee. Kelly and the girls did not return to the show and Abby Lee pressed charges against Kelly, which were later dropped. 

Kelly tried to sue both Abby Lee and Collins Ave Entertainment for negligence and breech of contract but the suit was eventually dropped and settled out of court.

Abby was speaking to promote Dancers Against Cancer – a non-profit organization with a mission to provide financial and inspirational support to dance educators, choreographers, dancers, and their families impacted by cancer. 

Although Abby was familiar with the organization, she didn’t get involved until she was diagnosed in 2019 with Burkitt Lymphoma – a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

The teaser includes footage from the reunion as well as throwback clips of some of the show’s most iconic moments — from Kelly’s backstage brawl with Miller

Chloe, pictured, and the other girls are seen in tears as they reflects on the harsh treatment they claim to have received from Miller 

Abby Lee told DailyMail.com: ‘They all got paid $50,000 to do this reunion. I was not asked to be in it, and I didn’t get paid anything. Save your tears for the pillow’

‘I was aware of it. I knew of it. It was kind of just starting in my world. And then next thing I know I have cancer and I was in the hospital. I was in the California Rehabilitation Institute,’ she told DailyMail.com.

‘And unbeknownst to me in walks, JoJo and a very dear friend of mine Michelle Rogers – who is a cancer survivor herself.

‘The two of them were visiting me on behalf of Dancers Against Cancer and they presented me a with a check for $10,000,’ she said. 

Dancers Against Cancer has been widely supported by those with a passion for dance, including past Dance Moms stars Jojo and Maddie.

Other celebrities who have shown their support include Julianne and Derek Hough, Jenna Dewan, Vanessa Hudgens, Olivia Newton John, Christina Applegate and Allison Holker Boss.

Every year, the organization hosts the annual Industry Dance Awards & Cancer Benefit Show. 

Abby, who previously appeared in spin-offss Dance Moms: Abby’s Studio Rescue and Dance Moms: Miami, launched her latest reality show, Mad House in September.

It features professional dancers competing for the chance to learn and live in Abby’s Mad House, in order to advance their careers.

She also revealed that she was recently in New York City filming an episode for the return of Dance Moms, which will be rebranded under a different name.

‘I am filming season nine,’ she said. ‘The show that I am shooting is the original concept that I went in. It’s not called Dance Moms, so some of the people are involved in it – hair, makeup, prop design, stuff like that. They’re involved.

Abby continues to promote Dancers Against Cancer – a non-profit organization with a mission to provide financial and inspirational support to dancers and their families impacted by cancer

Every year, the organization hosts the annual Industry Dance Awards & Cancer Benefit Show and has been supported by those with a passion for dance including past Dance Moms stars 

‘It gives a lot of kids a chance to be on TV and a lot of kids to be involved. There’s so much talent out there in the world. The kids dancing today are incredible.’

In January Abby sold her Pittsburgh dance studio, made famous on Dance Moms, in an off-market deal for $300,000.

‘Before there were tons of children with dreams… there was this 22yr old with a dream to build my own State of the Art Facility with the best sprung floors money could buy,’ she wrote at the time on Instagram.

In 2017, Abby was indicted on 20 counts of fraud and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.

She was also ordered to pay fines of $40,000 and $120,000.